Best Picture Oscar Ballot Doubles to 10

In an effort to boost sagging ratings numbers for the Oscars, the Acadamy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences have decided to blow up the race for Best Picture into a 10 horse show, doubling the usual number of nominees. Now, what does this mean?

The Good:

– If we’re using last year for an example, all those movies everyone thought were in the running for the fifth spot will get nominated, and then some. Last year that would have probably included The Wrestler, Doubt and of course, The Dark Knight.

– The inclusion of five more spots opens the field for more populist picks like The Dark Knight. That film was the second highest grossing movie ever for a reason, and it’s idiotic to think that its inclusion wouldn’t have had a huge boost on ratings numbers (the Oscars saw big boosts when Titanic and LOTR were nominated and won).

The Bad:

– Ten nominees might delute the phrase “Best Picture nominee,” since it’s now open to twice the number of films. I would say that eight might have been a more reasonable number, but doubling it to ten? I feel like there are some years where the top five only have about three good movies in them, I predict it’s going to be a laugh riot to see some of the films that pick up the 9 or 10 spots in future years.

– Despite rumors, the best animated feature category still exists, meaning Pixar’s annual fireworks show still won’t be able to get a best picture nomination. It’ll stay relegated to fighting off whatever crap talking animal Dreamworks movie puts out that year. Hopefully they’ll change this by next year.

So I don’t know if this is overall a good or a bad thing, but I know it’s a much larger change than I think most people realize. I look forward to seeing how it plays out next winter.

About The Author

Paul

I think I'm a part of the first generation of journalists to skip print media entirely, and I've learned a lot these last few years at Forbes. My work has appeared on TVOvermind, IGN, and most importantly, a segment on The Colbert Report at one point.

Madison

There’s going to be some bad movie niminated for Best Picture in the future. I’d actually support this ONLY if it meant more foreign, animated, and indie films would be considered for Best Picture, but I suspect it will simply be more big studio American films.

Ridiculous. I think this removes some of honor and exclusivity of being nominated. 5 movies are easy to remember, 10 is not. It’s a cop out.

Nattyb

Didn’t think the Oscars could get much worse but it’s happening.

Madison

Will the losers be getting participation ribbons?

Brandon

I agree… 10 movies cheapens the meaning of the award. I could care less which movie wins because it’s always all over the place, but the nominations are what I think counts the most. Ten is too much.

And yes, Dreamworks can’t hang with Pixar. Nor can Sony.

flo

the whole “it’s an honor just to be nominated” line will be a sham. i would never put the #1 film in the same ranking or league as a #10 film, but they soon will be lumped together. The other 5 probably wont stand a chance to of winning, so whats the point